A little while ago, I wrote an article for Cosmos Magazine on the weird and wonderful history of the earliest known purple pigment. The story begins ancient China, makes a stop in ancient Egypt, finds its way into modern superconductors and winds up in the hands of quantum physicists. There’s also a little bit of Taoism along the way. It’s a strange tale indeed, and still one of my favourites. I hope you enjoy! The Mysterious Colour Purple Tphoto credit: Sharon Drummond creative commons BY-ND 2.0